Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertruck has officially rolled off the production line at Gigafactory Texas.
More than four years after the reveal of its prototype pickup truck, Tesla confirmed Sunday that its manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, had completed production of its first Cybertruck.
“First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas!” Tesla said in a July 15 tweet. The picture shared on Twitter shows the much-anticipated EV pickup surrounded by more than 100 members of the production crew in hard hats and vests.
“Congrats Tesla Team!” Musk responded in a separate tweet.
Cybertruck production was supposed to ramp up in 2021, but design challenges with the pickup’s stainless steel body resulted in repeated delays. Because of this, Musk has been sure to temper expectations as to a timeline for full production. However, after Sunday’s announcement, the Cybertruck could be hitting roads all across the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.
Tesla will be producing three models of the Cybertruck based on different battery packs and drivetrain configurations.
The three configurations include a single-motor model with more than 250 miles of range, a dual-motor model with more than 300 miles of range, and a tri-motor model with more than 500 miles of range.
Pricing for the Cybertruck originally ranged from about $40,000 to $70,000. However, in late 2021, Tesla removed the pricing scheme from its website and has been cautious about updating it since.
“It’s going to be hard to make the cost affordable because it is a new car, new manufacturing method,” Musk said, per The Dallas Morning News. “In the grand scheme of things, relative to the production rate of all the other cars we make, it will be small. But it’s still very cool.”
Although Tesla is the uncontested leader in the EV space, the time between the Cybertruck’s reveal and its first production unit has given other legacy automotive manufacturers ample time to catch up. Tesla’s closest competitor in the market for EV pickup trucks is Ford Motor Co. with its F-150 Lightning.
On Monday, Ford announced that it was slashing the price of its F-150 Lightning by around $10,000 or nearly 17% in response to lower material costs.
“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” Ford executive Marin Gjaja said in a news release. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”
